This invention relates generally to decoder systems and particularly to television infrared (IR) light decoder systems that are microprocessor based.
In modern television receivers, many control functions are performed from a remote location by use of predetermined command signals from hand-held transmitting units. A popular type of control system uses bursts of IR light as the vehicle for the encoded signals, which are received by a suitable receiving device mounted on the television receiver. The television receiver may include a microprocessor for performing many receiver functions, such as tuning, in addition to decoding received IR coded command signals and generating appropriate control signals in response thereto. An IR encoded command signal generally consists of a binary data stream of given word length in which the presence of a burst of infrared energy represents a binary 1 and the absence of infrared energy represents a binary 0.
The demands on the microprocessor are quite extensive and when an IR remote command is received, the microprocessor must be available to decode the signal and generate the necessary control signal for performing the designated function. 7he present invention "unburdens" the microprocessor by enabling it to decode the signal in a greatly extended time period, thus enabling it to perform more tasks.